The Welsh powerhouses Those Damn Crows have gone from strength to massive strength over the last few years. Their last two albums have been received incredibly well, with us loving Inhale/Exhale (a lot), and this one is apparently rumoured to be tracking to be their first UK #1. We’ve been impatiently waiting for this album for the whole year so far, so now that it’s finally out, I cannot wait to immediately dive right in and sink my ear-teeth into this thing. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s do this.
Opening things off with a new one, ‘Dancing with the Enemy’ kicks things off with a bang. Opening with a great buildup of synths and drums and guitars; Shane’s incredible, powerful vocals soon come in over the top and only add to the tension. It all leads perfectly to the absolutely massive, catch chorus exploding in. It already feels so very Those Damn Crows in all the best ways. It’s still hard rock, but has such a fantastic production and hook to it that it would fit in on almost all mainstream radio stations. I love the heavier riffing coming out of each chorus, and I think it would sound awesome live. Structurally it’s pretty standard, with a short bridge connecting the final choruses, but it’s a damn good song and a solid album opener, either way!
Next up is the more upbeat single, ‘Glass Heart’ (instrumentally, not thematically). It’s another staple of the Crows sound; that vague 90s punk-hard-rock edge. To the surprise of I’m sure no one, the chorus is another infectiously catchy one, the backing vocals running between Shane’s main lines being amazing. Having said that though, the entire time Shane is singing through this song it’s catchy as anything. It’s another simple formula but an absolutely incredible radio rock song, and one that I feel like I’d only just got out of my head only for that hook to once again worm it’s way back in again for however damn long this time. I’d put it up there with any of the other big balladier Crows songs, and it’s a huge highlight of the album that easily made it onto our playlist!
Another new one, and a heavier one this time, ‘Fake’, immediately gives off both early and recent Shinedown vibes. I know the band are never going to escape comparison to them, but I honestly hardly see it as a bad thing. Shinedown are one of the most successful bands of the last 20 years, and the Crows are doing a damn good job continuing that style across the pond. The riffing to open is awesome, and it dropping down for the verses just to build up again is some great dynamics. Build up it certainly does through a catchy enough pre before the MASSIVE chorus comes in, Immediately having me addicted to it. It gives off slight Ra vibes; I guess both the band and the god they’re referencing due to the epic, slight Egyptian feel. The bridge feels even heavier with the strings in the back, giving slight Biffy vibes, which I also loved! It gets heavy, and is something I’m desperate to see live! The lyrics are also great throughout the whole track, some of my favourite on the album. It’s another fantastic song and another huge highlight on an album packed full of them so far!
The album lightens back up with the punk-infused ballad and single ‘Dreaming’. It’s another that I’ve loved since the moment it came out. Starting out beautiful, it still has some punchiness to some of the riffs in the pre and bridge. It’s another that has that big early 2000s US radio rock feel to it, almost giving off more Creed or early Nickelback this time round. The band also ‘The Longest Day’ me by having a pre-chorus be so big and catchy that I wasn’t expecting it to get any bigger into the actual chorus. And we get an awesome little guitar solo here, being technical but fitting the more chilled vibe of the song perfectly. Oh, and the key change, as if it couldn’t get any better… *chef’s kiss*. The writing and dynamics and production of this track are honestly off the charts, and you don’t need me to tell you at this point that it’s yet another awesome highlight of the album.
The lead single of the album, ‘Let’s Go Psycho!’ is a song we’ve all sat with for a while. Heck, I even did a reaction video to it! Shock horror, it’s another incredible, incredibly TDC song. But, I’m already gushing enough in this article as it is, so if you want more coverage of that track, check out the video!
Another pre-release single, ‘No Surrender’ opens on the best riff on the album. It’s foot-stomping, heavy gloriousness. Sadly this is the only time I feel like their usual ‘drop down for the verse’ thing doesn’t help, as it does feel like the track loses some momentum in the verse. Maybe it’s because it drops down so much. Still, it builds to another arena-filling chorus, and interesting has some Linkin Park electronic stuff behind it. It honestly adds so much to the sound, it was a masterful inclusion. Honestly even some of Shane’s vocal deliveries lean more towards that style and sound than their typical NWOCR one, making for an incredibly interesting listen and something that breaks the album up nicely. My minor gripe doesn’t stop this from being another hell of a song!
‘The Night Train’, and the closing single ‘Still’, are two more ballad tracks of the album. The former is a steady full-band track while the latter is mainly just Shane with an acoustic guitar. The only extra bits that come in are the strings that build and swell throughout, leading to a truly epic final chorus and a fitting conclusion to the album. Both tracks are amazing and are lyrically fantastically written.
The final two tracks on the album, ‘Turn it Around’ and ‘Spit & Choke’ are both brand new songs, and are both incredible, foot-stomping hard rock tracks. Both give me slight vibes of the heavier early BSC album tracks, which makes me love them even more. I love them both, but the former is another huge highlight of the album for me. They break up the two ballads I mentioned before perfectly, and give the album the perfect shot in the arm this late in the album.
Overall: WHAT AN ALBUM. Obviously, I came in with pretty high hopes and expectations, and the boys smashed every single one of them! From the punchy hard rock stuff to the slower, more emotion-filled ballads, it was all pulled off to perfection. I feel like I’ve gushed about this whole thing so much in this article, but it is so very deserved. They are one of the best bands in the scene right now and have earned every single accolade they are getting. They work hard, are some of the nicest people in the biz and are absolutely phenomenal songwriters. They’re most certainly going to be near the top of our list for albums of the year come December, that’s for sure. And, for the second time in a row…
The Score: 10/10